Where it is required to prevent access to the front seat compartment of a motor vehicle by someone located in the rear seat compartment, such as, for example, in a police car or taxi cab, it is known to partition the front and rear seat compartments by fixing at a location behind and above the front seat a rigid barrier dimensioned to approximate the cross-sectional area of the upper part of the vehicle interior. It is also known to select as the barrier material a rigid transparent plastic, such as Lexan *. FNT *Trade-Mark
Barriers of the type previously described suffer from a number of disadvantages. Firstly, these barriers are often difficult and time consuming to install, as there is no ready connection for the barrier provided on the front seat of the vehicle. Secondly, barriers of this type provide only limited protection to front seat passengers, as the barrier does not prevent a rear seat passenger from penetrating the front seat back with a sharp object such as a knife. Thirdly, since these barriers extend only from the upper part of the adjacent seat back to the vehicle interior ceiling, there is not provided any space for the placement of advertising matter. Finally, these barriers are often unsightly, and may be susceptible to vandalism.